Strangler nephew was out on bail

Jason Pilkington who tried to kill his uncle William Pilkington who was suffering form terminal cancer.

Published:10:17Thursday 10 April 2014

A man tried to murder his 71-year-old terminally-ill uncle after being considered safe to be released from a psychiatric hospital and while on police bail.

Jason Pilkington, 42, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, was found guilty of the attempted murder of his uncle, during a trial at Hull Crown Court.

William Pilkington, 71, retired builder whose nephew attempted to murder him with his bare hands as he died from terminal cancer. See story Hull News and Pictures.

Pilkington, formerly of St Martin’s Square, Scarborough, had previously been caught strangling a female patient on a hospital ward at Cross Lane in Scarborough.

He told a doctor that she had asked him to kill her and he felt his behaviour to try to end her life was justified. He was then released back into the community, on medication. At the end of a three-day trial Judge Mettyear called it a “very worrying case”. He imposed a hospital order that Pilkington be detained under the Mental Health Act.

Pilkington strangled his uncle, six-stone William Pilkington, 71, a retired builder who was suffering from lung and throat cancer. His extended family had no idea he had mental health problems and had asked him to care for the uncle at his home in Market Weighton, East Yorkshire.

But overnight the nephew pinned his uncle under a duvet with his arms trapped until he turned blue and stopped breathing.

William Pilkington, a father of four, died on August 15 2013 still suffering the effects of flash backs to his nephews attacks at his home on June 12 last year.

His nephew had a 10-year history of probems.

After the earlier attack on a woman at Cross Lane Hospital he was released into the community but stopped taking his medication.

He was re-admitted after going to a beach in Scarborough where he was living and assaulting a member of the public.

He was taken back to hospital where he told nursing staff he had thought of hurting people for eight years.

He then absconded from the hospital and was found at a shop making repeated blows to the head of an elderly tramp.

At the time of the attack on his uncle he was on police bail for three other offences.

He failed to attend court for two of these offences and at the time of the attempted murder police should have arrested him.

Judge Michael Mettyear said: “This is a very worrying case. He has a history of attacking elderly people.”

Speaking in court William Pilkington’s son, Stephen Pilkington, 53, said: “My dad’s arms and hands were trapped under the quilt.

“My dad’s face turned purple-blue. He was frothing at the mouth and his tongue was hanging out.

“I shouted at Jason and pulled him off by the scruff of the neck. I had to punch him in the face twice.

“We exchanged blows and I had to drag him off the settee to get him away from my dad. I tuned to Jason and said: “I will kill you in one move, but you’re not worth it.”

I could see my dad had not moved. He was unconscious. I gave mouth-to-mouth and blew into his lungs. His chest rose. He has stopped breathing. I blew a second time and he began to breathe rapidly.”

“I tried to get to the telephone in the house but Jason was blocking me.

“I shouted: You have got no honour! I trusted you with dad” I dialled 999. I saw dad had slumped down to one side. He was not breathing again.

“I could feel a pulse at the side of his neck so I put another mouthful of air in his lungs. He started coughing and spluttering and began breathing again.”

Jason Pilkington fled from police hiding under bushes.

At the police station Jason Pilkington said: “I know what I did was wrong. I should never have committed the crime.” In court he tearfully admitted: “I was not a very nice person and I can’t understand why I did the things I did. I had not been taking my medication. I was in the process of moving. I had only been at my mum’s for two weeks moving between Scarborough and Hull.”

Principal Crown advocate for the CPS in Yorkshire Jonathan Sharp said Jason Pilkington had been in and out of mental hospitals since 2004 suffering from paranoid delusional beliefs.

Stephen Pilkington said the family initially thought Jason had tried to carry out a mercy killing, but was now giving different version of events. “I knew nothing of his previous convictions until a court hearing,” said Mr Pilkington.

The arrangement was that he would help care for his uncle as his daughters Sally, 52, Pauline, 49 and Patricia, 41 had other commitments the next day. Speaking after the verdict Stephen Pilkington said: “I would never have trusted him if I had known all this. He added: “When it happened I could not believe it. I’m pleased he has been found guilty. It means no one is going to be in danger for a good while.”

The judge said Pilkington, would not be released without the approval of the Home Secretary.